28 Aug 2007

The Bulla Team and The Baviaans

Well, after a long battle again with Telkom, here I am at last to tell the story of the Bulla Team and the Baviaans. So much to tell, what do I tell and what do I leave out? The easiest I think is to tell you about the Bulla Team and then about Bulla One

(that is now Christo and Dennis Finch).

Yes, it was a long drive down and we have wisely decided to do it by air next time, but it was still fun driving to Willowmore, offload most of the stuff, drive to St Francis, drive to Jeffreys Bay, drive back to Willowmore with all team members now in a 4x4.

The morning dawned freezingly cold. We were packing, repacking,

testing the bikes, packing the support vehicle and waiting for the

starting time which was only at 10:00. Some were more nervous

than others and tried to calm themselves by doing warming up

exercises in the dirt road in front of the house in Willowmore.

The ride itself went fine with a few hick ups here and there. Rodney had a bad fall and with that came a few trouble spots. He lost his granniest of granny gears and with those hills he needed them all. The problem was he forgot he had lost a gear and keep shifting over to the missing gear, with the result the chain kept on falling in between the granny and the plastic plate.(ok, ok, it got stuck!) Of course it does call for throwing toys in all directions and lots of yanking.

Then came the deep river crossing and Renzo got his tyre's sidewall slashed. Ok, no problem, we have one tube, we have bommers, we have a tube and we have 3 bommers but we also have a pump. But if we use the pump, we can save the bommers and maybe we should save the tube too. But if we can put the tube in and only half inflate, we can save the bommers. That is the gist of the two men conversation going on while I'm standing waiting for something to happen. In the end with a hurried word or two from me, they got going again just to have the tube blown out of the tyre still fully inflated. That was touch and go, but in the end they did it perfectly-took about 30minutes?

The Baviaans only start testing you when there is only about 50km left over. The never ending hill seems like it was going to never end. The pace got slower and slower but eventually we did reach our support team. After chasing Red Bull, V-Power and double coffees down their throats, we attacked the last 25km with gusto. We made it in style and came in 20hours and 27 minutes.

Our support team was the best team! Not blinking at any of our demands, always ready, packing and repacking the 4x4. Driving where no man has been before-well almost. Sitting up in the cold, waiting for us at 4 in the morning, greeting us with cheers and smiles and I will never forget Elzet's words: Jissie! Julle is oulik, julle lyk goed. Thanks to Maggie and Elzet for fantastic support. To my teammates Rodney and Renzo; We made it as a team, finishing together. You made my day!

We sort of worked it out, we think:

The Baviaans is only about 100 000 pedal strokes.

Anyone with a closer answer? How many pedal strokes on 230km? More or less.

weather

About Me

Cycling is a passion, but fun, meeting friends and keeping them. Love the Argus cycle tour. This year was nr 17. The Baviaans mountain bike Marathon an absolute favourite! 230km in 24hrs-from Willowmore to Jeffreys bay. This year would be nr 9 for me and would love to do one more to get to nr 10! Done the Joberg2c and the Freedom Challenge in 2010. What a fantastic experience. A must do for those who wants to see what they are made of. Freedom Challenge nr.2 in June 2012 was a bit of a disaster where my bike packed up due to mud and I had to withdraw. It taught me how to not finish and live with it. Want to do the Dessert Dash in Namibia, a definite must do on my bucket list. The Trans Draak 24hr absolutely awesome. I have completed two and is so what I like to do. Almost done a full Cape Epic. Jozi2kozi a must do for anyone wanting to get away from the groomed tracks and trails. Arriving in Kosi Bay riding as one bunch was abolutely a winner. Riding The X Mountain biking Expedition in the Eastern Cape in September I'm sure will be a highlight of the year. 36one seems to be on the cards for next year. Keep riding, having fun